Theatre in Review: Oh, Hello On Broadway (Lyceum Theatre)

	John Mulaney, Nick Kroll. Photo: Joan Marcus

For some reason, the comedians Nick Kroll and John Mulaney have taken to playing Gil Faizon and George St. Geegland, "legendary bachelors" and superannuated residents of the Upper West Side. Despite being roommates for 40 years, George has found time for three wives, each of whom "died in the same way on the same staircase," and has managed to evade prosecution in each instance. He was also, he insists, a novelist of some note. Gil, whom George praises as one of the "strongest actors" in New York, is really a voiceover artist whose career was cut short when an audition for CBS went wildly wrong; rest assured, we will be treated to his different takes on the announcement "This is CBS, baby" on several occasions. They are also the hosts of the bizarre cable talk show Too Much Tuna, in which they serve their guests -- wait for it -- sandwiches overladen with that particular fish. Kroll and Mulaney, both popular television comics, have been working on these characters for some time, and, judging by the audience's response at the performance I attended, Gil and George are very well loved. For me, an initiate, however, Oh, Hello On Broadway consists of way, way too much tuna.

I can see how, taken in small doses, these characters might be hilarious in a bizarre, non sequitur kind of way. Oh, Hello involves Gil and George presenting a play based on their lives together. They've done other plays, including a Sam Shepard clone, True Upper West, cueing a sequence in which they cry crocodile tears over the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman. As you can see, good taste is not a concern: George comments that Gil's hair is "like the JonBenet Ramsey case: The more you look into it, the more questions you have." George kvells over his new novel, described as "the story of a Long Island Rail Road trip told from a hundred different perspectives. The audience for their TV show, they admit, may be "a Honduran cleaning woman who's not sure if she is allowed to change the channel."

There are remorseless gags about the seemingly immortal Off Broadway attraction Stomp and Billy Crystal's lachrymose solo show 700 Sundays, and only-in-New York comments about diners with menus that run to 34 pages and Au Bon Pain, which, we are told, is French for "breakfast at La Guardia." At each performance, a different celebrity is tapped for the Too Much Tuna segment; at my performance we got the Today Show/Morning Joe personality Willie Geist, whose deadpan manner proved to be an excellent foil for his hosts. Whatever the circumstances, Kroll and Mulaney are total pros and a remarkable example of teamwork; at my performance, they had ruthless fun with an audience member in the front row who took a bathroom break about halfway through the performance. My advice: If you attend Oh, Hello On Broadway, abstain from liquids for a sufficient period before curtain time.

Still, two hours of this thickly applied shtick quickly proved wearying; unless you are a devotee of the cult of Gil and George, chances are you may begin to feel that you are spending time in a Broadway theatre watching two talented comics indulge themselves as they work out a weird private joke that has obsessed them for far too long. Oh, Hello makes a strong initial impression but, before long, you may find yourself laughing at, maybe, every ninth or tenth joke. A number of running gags -- especially George's history of killing his spouses, which isn't all that funny to begin with -- are allowed to continue well after they have lost their zest.

Under the direction of Alex Timbers -- admittedly, not the man to keep a comedy from overstaying its welcome -- Oh, Hello On Broadway derives a surprising amount of its fun from its design. Scott Pask's set is, as per the script, a mashup of elements from various Broadway shows, at least one of which he designed originally: It includes the beauty parlor from Steel Magnolias, a staircase (backed by a wall with various photos of black families) taken from an unnamed August Wilson play, the trap door from The Diary of Anne Frank, and the stoop from The Cosby Show. (You can imagine where they go with that.) There's also a door that opens to show a large pillow with a smiley face and arms -- The Pillowman, naturally. This and several other puppets -- including an overstuffed tuna sandwich with eyes -- are the work of Basil Twist. Jake DeGroot's lighting amusingly tracks the stars' moods, underscoring them with splashes of saturated color, spinning gobo effects, and slow fadeouts -- the last in a clever sequence spoofing typical Broadway drama tropes. M. L. Dogg's sound design includes musical excerpts from Gil and George's long-ago heyday, including some cuts from Miles Davis and Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," plus the jingle that introduces Too Much Tuna. Emily Rebholz is listed as costume consultant, although I suspect that Gil and George's looks were long ago set in stone; Annamarie Tendler Mulaney's makeup designs are crucial to turning these thirtysomething comics into exceptionally dessicated septuagenarians.

Oh, Hello On Broadway is designed for Kroll and Mulaney's fans, and I doubt that many of them will leave the Lyceum disappointed. If, like me, you're new to the party, you may want to catch their act on YouTube before deciding to attend. If your taste runs to too much tuna, you'll have a fine time. If you enjoy a more varied menu, there are plenty of other attractions available. -- David Barbour